A picture is worth more than a 1,000 words

Submitted by HD Farmbook on Fri, 09/16/2011 - 11:46

Hoard's Dairyman:

A picture is worth more than a 1,000 words

Date:

Fri, 09/16/2011

What can photos tell us? A lot, when we discuss pedigrees and breeding. On Wednesday, September 14, Hoard’s Dairyman pictured 14 of the farm’s best Guernseys. The day began early, with two staff members washing in the pre-dawn cold in preparation for photographer, Kathy DeBruin of Agri-Graphics, to arrive for a full day of photographing. Ryan Olson, a Fort Atkinson native, clipped the cattle prior to washing and arrived early Wednesday morning to sort animals from the milking string and prepare them for their photograph. Two more Hoard’s team members and another individual joined in the fun – moving legs, making attention-grabbing noise, and holding the tails for our bovine models. Generally, there is one picturing day each year at Hoard’s with about dozen animals posing, sometimes reluctantly, for the camera.

Having a photo of a good-looking cow, is great, but it needs to serve a purpose. In choosing the cows to photograph, several items are considered. Each of the chosen cows has at least one heifer on the farm. Her photo and pedigree are then showcased on our website as well as in the farm's visitor area. When consigning to sales, having a photograph of the dam or granddam adds visual information that a potential buyer can use to make purchasing decisions. Photos are also used for advertising and promotion. The farm uses a good mix of young sires in their mating program. The first crop daughters that result are often photographed for the A.I. company or young sire proving group, as in the case of these three Laredo daughters. Look for the photos of these 14 cows in a few weeks under Favorites at www.hoards.com/farm.